Advertisement

Blog Viewer

From P4 to Pharmacist

By Morgan King posted 03-16-2015 21:54

  
I had a conference call with the Pharmacy Student Forum Leadership Development Advisory Group tonight. Talking to other P4 students before the call started made me realize...holy moly I graduate in exactly 2 months! It's crazy how this last year has flown by so fast, especially the last couple of months. Between rotations, traveling to Honduras for one week for my underserved rotation, and traveling all over the country for residency interviews, I have no idea where January and February went! I think what is even more exciting is knowing that my future (or at least the next year of my life) is being determined by a computer system. It's scary not having any idea where I'll end up. I know The Match is only 4 days away, but I've been wondering this for the past year now! Not to mention, the anticipation of The Match has been driving me crazy. The panic of wondering if I'm eligible for a license in the state I ranked first (even though I clearly looked into this before applying), the nightmares of programs not having my ID number...been there, done that. One thing is for certain, though; in exactly 2 months, I will no longer be a P4. In exactly 2 months, I'll be in the final phases of studying for the NAPLEX and law exam. In exactly 2 months, I'll be in that awkward transitioning phase of "I'm not a student, but I'm not quite a pharmacist either" because I won't have my license.

The transition from "student" to "adult" (or at least "adult with a big kid job") is scary. Just thinking about it gives me the heebie-jeebies. All of the loans I'll have to start paying off, all of the full price membership fees I'll have to pay to keep up with my organizations despite all of the previous mentioned loans, working full time (and then some because that's how the life of a resident goes)...it all causes a whirlwind of emotion. Anxiety because I have no idea what I'm doing, and yet excitement to start a new chapter in my life. Sadness because I will no longer be a student seeing my friends every day, and happiness because I'll finally be putting the past 3 years of undergrad and the past 4 years of pharmacy school experience to good use.

This is a crazy, wonderful time for myself and my fellow P4s. We're about to venture out into the real world. We're about to transition from P4s to pharmacists. That light at the end of the tunnel we didn't think existed...we've found it. I know it's only mid-March, but I want to extend a congratulations to my fellow P4s on making it this far, and I want to extend even more good luck to those who are anxiously waiting for Friday as well as suffering the from the same anxiety and nightmares as me.

And to those who are P1s, P2s, and P3s; I want to let you all know that your time is coming, and it's coming fast. Don't blink. It will be here before you know it. Some advice I wanted to extend to you as you plan for your future;

1. If you want to do a residency, start planning early. Get involved, find an internship, volunteer, take on a leadership position, present a poster. I know you probably hear this advice enough (I know I had it ingrained into my head numerous times over the last 4 years). Listen to those who tell you this. They know what they're talking about.

2. Do something outside of your comfort zone. Volunteer abroad in a country you've never been to before, run for president of your SSHP chapter, present a poster at Midyear. Tasks like this may seem daunting, but they'll build your character (and give you something to talk about on residency interviews).

3. Pick hard rotations. Not because they look good on residency applications (although that's a bonus). Do it because they'll prepare you the best for the real world. You only get out of your rotation what you put into it. If you pick a hard rotation that requires a lot of work, you're going to learn so much!

4. Enjoy every minute. There will be some rough patches...times your preceptor makes you want to cry, all nighters because you didn't finish your case presentation over the weekend, stress because your residency applications are due in 24 hours, and even sadness because you didn't get an interview at a program you were really interested. But there will also be amazing times...times where you'll help a patient who really needed it, time you'll listen to a patient when they just wanted someone to talk to, time to laugh with your friends at your end-of-the-month dinners after each rotation. Cherish the good and the bad. They will shape you as the pharmacist you're about to become.

It's a crazy, wonderful time in my life. I'm about to make the transition from P4 to pharmacist, and I couldn't be any more excited, anxious, happy, sad, or scared.
0 comments
1058 views

Permalink